Worked on the heater/AC today May 30, 2009, 10:16:51 PM It turned out to be a productive day. I had a vacuum leak somewhere that was forcing the air to come out the defrost no matter what I did. After a couple of hours investigating, I found that the vacuum line from the A/C controls had come off the defrost vacuum motor (or whatever it's called). Luckily, that turned out to be an easy fix.Then, while I had everything apart, I decided to try to figure out why the Hi setting for my blower motor wasn't working (it hadn't worked in years). It turned out to be a bad switch, and luckily I had a spare. Another problem quickly fixed.While I replaced the fan motor switch, though, I noticed that the connector was slightly melted. In fact, it wasn't even the original one...THAT one had totally melted a long time ago, and I had replaced it. Apparently it's a problem with these cars.So...I took a look at my 1997 Explorer EVTM. It turns out that Ford changed the design at some point, and now they isolate the Hi setting with a 30A SPDT relay (the larger 1"-square ones). It turns out I had a spare relay, and decided to do some rewiring. Earlier this year I had upgraded my Explorer to heated mirrors, and to do the job properly (using the right pins in the connectors) I had bought some Taurus left and right door harnesses to cannibalize. There were plenty of connectors left to cannibalize on them, many with heavier-gauge wire. The short of it is that now my T-Bird now has the 1997 design, with the relay isolating the Hi fan speed.I was running out of light just as I buttoned everything up, and I'll revisit it later on as the wire job was just temporary. I have a proper relay block on order that I'm hoping to be able to use to do the job "right". I also need to take a closer look at the med-hi, med-low, and low settings, as I'm not detecting much difference between them in terms of airflow. It could be my resistor block, and I have a spare that I can try tomorrow.Still it's so nice to have the Hi setting back, although one downside is that, with the lights and radio on, the alternator is barely keeping up; the LED voltmeter on the dash is reading around 12.2V when I'm driving. I wonder what the biggest alternator I can put on my stock bracket would be...I have a set of Mustang rotary heater controls coming, and I already have a Mark VII rear-defrost switch. I'm seriously considering switching over to them, depending on how painful it looks to be, but this was a good first step. If nothing else, I learned a lot, and I'm pretty sure that I can switch to the rotary block without cutting any vacuum lines. I just have to use extra vacuum lines and lots of junctions. Quote Selected
Worked on the heater/AC today Reply #1 – May 30, 2009, 10:25:40 PM Regarding the alternator... search around here and you'll read many praises and even a couple how-to's (I think) about the 3G alternator. 130A compared to our stock 65A, I've heard it makes a world of difference. I had one in my car, ready to fire up and I kept reading a sub-12v number at the battery with it running. Actually tried two different 3G's and still nothing, then when I put my stock one back in and found that it was still doing it, I lost my mind. After much head-bashing I came to find that the plug on the back of the instrument cluster wasn't plugged all the way in and the ammeter/vlotometer, whatever wasn't making a complete circuit, thus the alternator was not charging....Anyway, back on topic, get yourself a 3G. Quote Selected
Worked on the heater/AC today Reply #2 – May 30, 2009, 11:06:44 PM Yup, I went to a 3G a long while ago. Quote Selected
Worked on the heater/AC today Reply #3 – May 31, 2009, 02:10:44 AM You went to a 130A 3G and still showing only 12.2v? That seems low. Quote Selected
Worked on the heater/AC today Reply #4 – May 31, 2009, 04:11:31 AM Yeah, I know But that's with headlights, fog lights, and the radio on (aftermarket, with amps) and the blower motor at Hi. With all that off I get over 14V. I don't know if that's normal or not, though. Quote Selected
Worked on the heater/AC today Reply #5 – May 31, 2009, 05:10:44 PM I took a look at the alt today...it's a 3G, but only 95A No wonder I've been having issues with power consumption, and I've switched nearly all of my external lights (and some dash lights) over to LED's to save power. I even did the PA Performance power wire upgrade. The first order of business today will be to search the forum and figure out what 130A alt to buy.On a better note, I put in a new blower motor resistor block and it's working better now. I'm so glad I went to all that trouble yesterday. Now to seek out more power so I can run it at full blast Edit...I just ordered the PA Performance small case 150A alternator. According to them, UPS ground should get it to me in a day (they're only 25-30 miles away). I'm hoping it will be plug-and-play since I already have a 95A 3G... Quote Selected
Worked on the heater/AC today Reply #6 – June 07, 2009, 07:58:43 PM Update...I put in my PA Performance 150A alternator today, and I'm getting the same response. I already did the PA Performance power wire upgrade last year. Yesterday morning I switched out my four amber bulbs for LED's to try to save more power. Today, my readings are (with lights, fog lights, and radio on, A/C at max, blower motor at Hi):- Driving: ~12.5V- Stopped: ~11.8VI don't get it... Quote Selected
Worked on the heater/AC today Reply #7 – June 07, 2009, 08:18:43 PM Is your battery on its way out? If not, start pulling fuses 1 by 1 looking for the one with the biggest drain. Quote Selected
Worked on the heater/AC today Reply #8 – June 07, 2009, 11:30:37 PM Try temporarily switching in a known-good battery, hopefully that's the issue.Also, batt. cables all nice and clean, tight, etc...you've probably thought of that though, but if not... Quote Selected
Worked on the heater/AC today Reply #9 – June 08, 2009, 02:14:36 AM If the voltage is good at the battery, it's not an alternator problem.Where are you getting the voltage from for the dash volt meter? Quote Selected
Worked on the heater/AC today Reply #10 – June 14, 2009, 10:15:50 PM It looks like my battery might be shot, but it's hard to tell. I put on a new 2 ga. positive battery wire. When the car is off I read 12V at the battery, but as soon as I turn the key to RUN the voltage drops to 9V. The battery is 6-7 years old, and I'm guessing that a cell is shot. Quote Selected
Worked on the heater/AC today Reply #11 – June 14, 2009, 10:25:16 PM Quote from: Quietleaf;275163While I replaced the fan motor switch, though, I noticed that the connector was slightly melted. In fact, it wasn't even the original one...THAT one had totally melted a long time ago, and I had replaced it. Apparently it's a problem with these cars.I see this problem on a lot of Fords just looking at bare disassembled dashes in salvage yards. My Tbird has a slightly melted plug connector for the fan switch. Quote I have a set of Mustang rotary heater controls coming, and I already have a Mark VII rear-defrost switch. I'm seriously considering switching over to them, depending on how painful it looks to be, but this was a good first step. If nothing else, I learned a lot, and I'm pretty sure that I can switch to the rotary block without cutting any vacuum lines. I just have to use extra vacuum lines and lots of junctions.I snagged a rotary HVAC panel from a 94-98 Mustang today. It has those dual cables on a pulley and I have been trying to figure out a way to make it work on my 1984 Tbird hot/cold door lever. It will also require a seperate rear defroster switch as well. If i cannot make it work I might go snag a 85-88 Tbird/Cougar HVAC control panel since it has a more modern looking faceplate.As far as the vacuum lines go, you could possibly pull the lines off intact from all the vacuum actuators of the donor car and you wont need to tee and connect everything. Quote Selected
Worked on the heater/AC today Reply #12 – June 14, 2009, 10:36:00 PM I knew I had seen the HVAC rotary panel retrofit conversion somewhere.http://www.coolcats.net/modifying/heaterpanel.htmlI just realized I made a huge mistake and got a panel from a later model Mustang. The dual cable with pulley setup just will not work. No biggie because I got it for almost nothing. The tip says to use one from a 1990-91 Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable. Those years still used a single cable for the hot/cold. After those years they switched to electric controls and actuators.Seems like many of us I am learning as I go along... Quote Selected
Worked on the heater/AC today Reply #13 – June 14, 2009, 10:51:55 PM It took me a while to figure out, too. I picked up a 1991 Mustang panel and the full lengths of vacuum lines. I have a Mark VII rear defrost switch. I haven't yet committed to switching over, but I'm considering it.I don't have a scanner, but I have a camera. For anyone who is interested, here is what I did to insert a relay to isolate the Hi blower setting:http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?0yimmuxuzmiThe lower three settings are still resulting in less fan speed than I would like. I suspect that it's the fan switch as I'm using a new resistor pack. Once I get my battery issue straightened out I'll swap in a new blower switch and see what happens. Quote Selected
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